SHIPPENSBURG -- A Shippensburg couple are being held in lieu of $1 million bail each after they bought Army and Navy uniforms and equipment over the weekend from an undercover Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent, according to court documents.

Denise A. Russell, 44, and Gary Lee Russell, 47, arranged to buy $74,898 worth of military uniforms and miscellaneous equipment that was presented to them as having been stolen from the U.S. government, according to documents filed in District Judge H. Anthony Adams' Office.

Burglaries in North Carolina

The case actually began at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., where NCIS agents were investigating at least four separate burglaries between Sept. 15 and Oct. 18 from a building on base, according to a search warrant filed in District Judge Susan K. Day's Office.

According to the warrant, about $350,000 worth of tents, cold weather gear, stoves, boots and uniforms was stolen during the break-ins. NCIS set up surveillance on the building and, on Oct. 18, two U.S. Marines were arrested while breaking into the building a fifth time, the warrant states.

These arrests led to the investigative unit identifying eight Marines involved in "a complex conspiracy to break into U.S. Government buildings, steal U.S. Government property and sell it for profit," according to the warrant.

Of those eight Marines, three agreed to become confidential informants to assist NCIS in recovering the property they had sold to various buyers, mostly on eBay.

Investigation heads to Shippensburg

One of the informants, who helped NCIS recover about $11,000 in stolen property that apparently had been sold to an individual in New Jersey, identified Denise Russell as another buyer, telling agents she had bought about $37,280 worth of stolen property from him in a previous purchase for her store, Weekend Warriors here, the warrant states.

Another purchase was set up through texts, emails and phone calls with Denise, who acknowledged that she was aware the items were stolen and wished to buy more, according to the warrant. The purchase was arranged for Sunday.

According to the documents, Denise and her husband met the informant and an undercover NCIS agent Sunday at the military surplus store on West King Street.

During the purchase, the couple told the officers that they were aware the items were stolen and even tried to arrange future illegal purchases, the documents state.

The NCIS agent asked to use a bathroom in the business during the purchase and observed several items for sale in the store that were bought through eBay, according to the documents.

As the couple loaded the items into their box truck, they informed the undercover agent that they typically held the items they bought in a warehouse building next to their house in Southampton Township. The couple also told the officers about several overseas clients to whom they have sold such items, including one based in Japan, the documents state.

Denise paid for the illegal items, which included Marine Corps-issued Marine Pattern uniforms, Army-issued camouflage uniforms, SureFire tactical lights, tents, Marine-issue bayonets, boots and fleece jackets, using two bank bags full of cash that she pulled from under the store register, according to the documents and purchase orders in emails disclosed in the warrant application.

Following the purchase, an undercover vehicle tailed the couple back to their house, and a search warrant was conducted on the box truck, where the illegally purchased items were recovered, the documents state.

Where the investigation stands now

Denise and Gary Russell were charged with two counts each of corrupt organizations and three counts each of receiving stolen property and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, court records state.

The couple were ordered held in Cumberland County Prison on separate $1 million bails and remained in prison as of Tuesday, the records state.

Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed confirmed the investigation as well as the charges, but declined to comment when contacted about the case Tuesday, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation into the charges.

Ed Buice, a spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Quantico, Va., also was unable to comment at length on the investigation, which remains open.

"NCIS does not discuss the details of ongoing investigations," Buice wrote in an email response to PennLive's questions Tuesday.

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